Author: whatifconcepts

Empowering those that inspire so they can excel at the work that matters.

Gaming the System

Checked in for a two-leg flight. Baggage fees for two bags total $100. Upgrading to First Class was $80 (total for both legs), which included two free checked bags. I suspect the pricing is generated by an algorithm (AI). There is limited demand for First Class, so the upgrade price remained low. Baggage fees are fixed and increase based on the number of checked bags.

What inconsistent messages does your enterprise communicate? Is it transactional (airline baggage fees), or is it subtle? Does your organization’s value proposition humor your members or create confusion in your community? Sometimes, our quirks are what give us depth and dimension. Other times, it keeps individuals from investing fully in our cause.

Bunches

Some things primarily come in bunches. We can embrace this norm or work to customize our needs.

How might we decide when accepting the default mode is acceptable? How might we prioritize what would benefit from a customization effort?

Best in the World

When the best in the world are near your current location, do you gravitate towards their performance? Are you viewing to say, ‘I was there.’ As somebody who pursues the same craft, are you seeking insights on how to perform better? Do you show up to collect a memento from the event?

Understanding our motivation to prioritize our first steps.

Attention or Passion

Do you perform your craft for attention or the passion of the art you are creating? If we need attention, then we might wait until the crowd assembles. We might play regardless of whether an audience assembles if we are passionate about our craft.

More Cowbell

What events are worth celebrating? Which celebrations can be customized by adding distinctive touches? Bringing a cowbell to a ski race is a borrowed ritual from Europe. Breaking out the super-sized cowbells for a FIS World Cup Finals elevates the celebration.

How might we have levels of celebration? Meeting a quarterly goal might not require the same response as honoring a retiring board member, which might not be the same as completing a generational capital campaign project.

Empty Seats

A commercial airline commits numerous resources to selling as many seats as possible on every departing plane. A ski area is less fixated on the number of empty seats on the ski lift. Ski reports are more focused on selling tickets, passes, food, lessons, and other point-of-sale opportunities.

When we produce an event/program, do we measure its impact by the number of attendees or the depth of engagement of those who participate?

Framing the Location

We might build a viable enterprise if we establish a solid foundation and frame our strategies with appropriate materials. We invest significant resources to occupy a distinct location. As an alternative, we can carry our basic necessities and be mobile.

How might we decide if our location defines our work or if our work defines the location?

Momentum

How do you understand if we are making progress? If we use your peers’ momentum as a metric, are we sure they are advancing? We might be keeping up only to realize we are motionless?

How might we use external waypoints and independent confirmations to assess our progress?

Completely Safe

What was deemed entirely safe changed with more knowledge and time? What new information has transformed your understanding of reality? What everyday activities from your youth now make you reconsider adult oversight? How might we build in the ability to adapt and amend as new details reveal themselves?

A little more detail on the home Atomic Energy Lab.

Perspective

As you gain experience and maturity, how does it impact your perspective? When we were younger, what age did you consider old? As we enter new decades, does our definition of old change? How might we recognize our perspective is associated with a sliding scale?

What-if-concepts

Empowering those who inspire so they excel at the work that matters.